A first known system comprises a one-piece elastomer plate arranged on a structure. The damping power of the elastomer then reduces the dynamic deformations of the structure, regardless of the way in which the structure is stressed mechanically, the elastomer serving in particular to dissipate energy in the form of heat.
Nevertheless, the effectiveness of that first system is limited since, as a result, the oscillation of the structure induces only small movements in the elastomer. The amount of energy dissipated in the elastomer plate is thus small.
To improve that first system, it is common practice to use a second system. The second system comprises a visco-stressed elastomer, i.e. an elastomer plate having a top portion previously bonded onto a metal support. The bottom portion of the elastomer plate, remote from the top portion, is then secured to a structure.
During dynamic deformation, e.g. bending of the structure generated by vibration, the top face is held by the metal support. This additional boundary condition induces a state of internal stresses in the elastomer that is greater than in the preceding configuration. Consequently, the amount of vibratory energy dissipated in the elastomer plate is increased.
The second system is indeed more efficient than the first system. Nevertheless, for applications that require a large amount of vibratory energy to be dissipated, it is still not sufficient.